The Mystery of the Blood Shadow
by Katie Llama
Summary: We know very little about Shiina, like how she died and what she was like when she was alive. So, I decided to fix that. Here's Shiina's life before the afterlife! Rated T for violence and language in later chapters and because I'm paranoid. Please R&R :)
1. Chapter 1: The Prodigy

**Hello everyone! This little fanfic is what I think happened with Shiina in Angel Beats! What was she like when she was alive? How did she die? How did she live before she joined the SSS? Read and find out! This is using the small amounts of backstory that the manga, Angel Beats! – Heaven's Door. Honestly, I was a little bit confused about the whole "came from the past" thing, but I like the idea, so I'll play off of that. Enjoy!**

Chapter One: The Prodigy

She's the most famous woman within a fifty-mile radius. She is the one that all leaders, be it shoguns, generals, even the daimyos, feared. She was the ultimate assassin of the Sengoku Period. The rumors about her were endless. Some say that she is secretly a man, because no woman can be as skilled as her. Others claim that she was the reason for the downfall of the Ashikaga shogunate because the Tokugawa family hired her to assassinate key political and military leaders. There are even those who think that she has been blessed by Futsushi and given all of his cleverness and deceit, making her the best liar and actress. Her scarlet eyes pierce the night and match the color of the blood of her victims. Her long, navy blue hair cloaks her in darkness, allowing her to blend into the night more easily than most men. Nobody except her family knows her real name, but to the public, she is the Blood Shadow.

Although she's the cause of nightmares in her assassin form, she is a nice person when she isn't stabbing people. She comes off as cold and unfeeling, but once you break that hard shell, you have a kind, sweet, animal-loving teenager. In general, she doesn't really trust people she doesn't know well. As an assassin and spy, she was trained to trust no one except for the man who hired you. Despite her trust issues, she does have a few friends, all of who are fellow mercenaries. She doesn't see them much, and she honestly doesn't know them very well. She actually hasn't had more than four friends at a time because they would be killed so quickly. After her last, and best friend, Emi was killed in combat, she had never made another new friend in her life. She has dealt with too much grief of death and she never wants to experience it again.

Thankfully, she has a wonderful family. She has a father, a mother, and two younger sisters; one baby sister and an adolescent sister. She belonged in the middle class, so she was a part of a humble family of vendors. Her sisters and mother make decorative pottery and my father runs our small shop. She never contributes to the business directly, but she uses some of the money she makes as a mercenary to pay for basic costs that come with the shop and pottery materials. She is also in charge of maintaining the house, cooking, yard work, and taking care of her sisters. The newest member of her family is Daiki, an Aikita puppy with ginger and white fur. He is very playful, and the only one who was always home. He loves everyone, but he loves her the most, and she loves him with all her heart. He was the one who truly listened to her and connected with her. She would die for him, and he would do the same.

Oh my, it appears that I've forgotten to mention "her" name. The real name of the Blood Shadow; the name of the first true female assassin; the name of the humble family teen. Her name is Hayashi Hitomi.

** Well there's the first chapter! I had to do quite a bit of research about Japanese history. You wouldn't believe how much time I was on wiki, reading about history during my summer vacation XD. This is more of a background of Shiina, but trust me, it'll get exciting next chapter! Please R&R and have a nice day! ^^**

**~Katie Llama**


	2. Chapter 2: The Lies

**Hello everyone! After waaaaayyy too long, here's my second chapter! As I promised, it's more exciting than the last chapter, especially since that last chapter was an introduction to everything. In this chapter, we get a better look into Shiina's everyday life. As always, I don't own Angel Beats! no matter how much I want to. Enjoy!**

Chapter Two: The Lies

"Hey, Hitomi, are you going to wake up any time soon?" my mom shouted from the kitchen. Although my eyes were closed, my nose told me that she was making breakfast.

"Yes, mother, I'm on my way!" I replied sleepily and partially annoyed. I slid out from under my blanket and slowly stood up. Once I finally reached the position known as standing, I marched my way to the kitchen. Mother was just finishing my breakfast as I took my seat on the cloth mat on the floor next to the low table. She filled my bowl with steamy white rice and then gently placed it in front of me. I put my hands together in prayer. "Thank you for the food."

This is usually how things work. I wake up at around noon to my mom yelling at me to wake up. I go over, have breakfast, and proceed to my normal schedule of cleaning, yard work, and caring for my baby sister, Haruko, my slightly younger sister, Reiko, and my beloved puppy, Daiki. I appear to be a normal, eighteen-year-old girl with a humble life as the daughter of a pottery owner. Not everything is as it seems.

In reality, I'm a killer. I make money slitting throats and betraying the ones I spend months gaining trust with. I am part of an assassination group known as the Judgmental Midnight. We are mercenaries that are hired specifically for secret killings and chaos starters. Where am I in this group? Interestingly enough, I'm the head of the female fleet. Don't get your hopes up. That position is not a very big honor, per se. You see, female ninjas are rare, and there are only about ten, including me, in our entire organization of three hundred people. But even though we're women, we know how to pull off a great assassination. For example, a woman named Aki killed a noble and his family within ten minutes without a single sound. She never even encountered the guards. I always end up killing the guards. I would feel bad, but I've been taught otherwise. The motto of our group is "There is no need to feel bad for squishing a bug, so just pretend the target is an ant." If you can't kill someone without restraining your humanity, then you won't last long. Trust me, I've seen the results, and they don't include a beating heart.

I finished my breakfast leisurely and cleaned my bowl outside. After that, I got dressed and preceded to take Daiki outside for a walk. We strolled down the dirt path and occasionally stopped to let him "do his business". After a short while, we reached the center of our tiny town. Here, there were small stands and shops lined up around a network of cobblestone roads, which bordered the local garden and park. We skipped over to the park area and began to play. We played fetch with a small twig that came from a sakura tree, ran around the koi pond, and rolled around in the grass. People were staring at us as if we had gone insane, but I ignored them. Daiki was the only one who could bring the fun side out of me. Normally, I'm soft-spoken, polite, and generally composed. But, when it's just Daiki and me, I let the more spontaneous and silly side of me bursts out. I don't know why, but it happens to me with all kinds of cute animals. I don't know what it is, but anything cute has the power to destroy my cold, hard shell and reveal my soft, amusing side.

After an hour of childish fun, the two of us started to head home. On the way back, I started discussing my woes with my adorable companion. Luckily, nobody was around, so I could talk about whatever I wanted. "Hey, Daiki?" I asked as his ears perked up at the sound of his name, "What am I supposed to do? My family still has no idea about what I really do. They still think I work at a noble's home as a personal servant. Am I supposed to tell them about my real job? If so, how?" He just cocked his head to the side. I sighed, "Yeah, I guess you can't really give advice, huh? At least I can talk to _you_ honestly." I looked off to the distance with sorrow. How much longer am I supposed to lie to my family? How can I reject my conscience like this so easily? Not only am I killing dozens of people in dishonorable combat, but I'm also lying about it. Working for nobles? I only kill them.

I finally got home at about 5:00, two hours later than I had anticipated. "Welcome home, sweetie. Did you have fun?" mom asked cheerfully while firing a plate. I simply nodded. She never minded if I was late to get home. As far as I'm concerned, she only cares about the dough that I bring in from work. I went straight to my room, shut myself in, and curled up in the corner. My eyes turned weary as I exhausted myself worrying about my secret. I looked over to my tatami mat that held a secret box underneath it. There I stored my uniform and weapons. I also keep a long scroll that contains tally marks that record the number of days that I've been in Judgmental Midnight. I crawled over and removed the mat. I grabbed the scroll and opened it up. I counted the lines that engulfed the paper while letting my hand try to find my paintbrush. After I felt its wooden handle, I took it and marked another day. My eyes were suddenly filled with sorrow.

"Two years, huh?" I thought to myself, "Happy Birthday to me…"

**Well there you have it! I guess it was a little more exciting than last chapter… but I'm just happy to be able to update. Hopefully it won't take as long next time. Please don't forget to R&R and have a nice day! ^^b**

**~Katie Llama**


End file.
